Antumi Toasijé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antumi Toasijé
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Antumi Pallas
13 November 1969 |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | Historian |
Antumi Pallas (born November 13, 1969), also known as Antumi Toasijé, is a Spanish-Colombian historian. He is a strong supporter of Pan-Africanism, which is a movement that encourages people of African descent worldwide to unite. Antumi Toasijé is partly of African heritage, making him an Afro-Spaniard.
He teaches Global History at the University of New York in Madrid and other universities in Spain. He is an expert in African history, culture, and understanding racism. He also leads the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (CEDRE). This group advises the Spanish government on how to stop racism.
Contents
Biography
Antumi Toasijé was born on November 13, 1969, in Bogotá, Colombia. His mother, Laura Victoria Valencia Rentería, was an Afro-Colombian woman from Quibdó. Her family roots trace back to the Temne people in Sierra Leone. His father was Spanish and had to leave Spain because of the Francoist regime.
Antumi Toasijé has strong connections to Equatorial Guinea and Ghana. However, he mainly lives and works in Spain, where he moved when he was two years old. He identifies as a Buddhist.
Education and Early Work
Antumi Toasijé earned his PhD from the University of Alcala in Spain. A PhD is a very high university degree that shows you are an expert in a subject. His PhD was in history, culture, and thought. His main research was about the presence of Black people in Spain from ancient times until today.
Before his PhD, he studied at the University of the Balearic Islands. There, he earned a "Licentiate" degree in history. He also studied at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
He has held important roles, such as Director of the Center for Pan-African Studies. He was also President of the Pan-African Center. He directed a journal about migrations and was part of the African Studies Group at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Life in Ibiza and Activism
Antumi Toasijé spent his early years in Ibiza, part of the Balearic Islands. There, he enjoyed painting and writing poetry. He was part of a poetry group called Desfauste and was very active in the island's cultural scene.
In 2003, he joined other African thinkers to start the Association of African and Pan-African Studies. Their journal, Nsibidi, was the first Spanish-language journal focused on African social studies. In 2005, he helped organize the 2nd Pan-African Congress in Spain.
Later, he became involved in the movement to get Spain to apologize for its role in slavery. This effort led to a motion being passed by the Congress of Deputies on February 17, 2009. This motion was not a law, but it showed support for the idea.
Toasijé is a well-known figure in the Spanish-speaking world for his ideas on "afrocentricity" and Pan-Africanism. Afrocentricity means looking at the world from an African point of view. He is also involved with the African Union's "6th Region" working team. This team helps connect people of African descent living outside Africa with the African Union. He is also a key person behind the New Universal Calendar (NUCAL) movement.
Current Roles and Recognition
In October 2020, Antumi Toasijé was appointed President of the Council for the Elimination of Racial or Ethnic Discrimination (CEDRE). This appointment was made by the Spanish Ministry of Equality.
He has also been awarded a Fulbright Scholar in Residence position. This means he will teach and research at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, starting in August 2024.
Toasijé often gives lectures and presentations at various Spanish universities and institutions. He has co-written several books about immigration and African topics. He has also written many articles for both academic journals and popular newspapers. He works closely with other Spanish-speaking Pan-Africanists, like Mbuyi Kabunda Badi and Justo Bolekia Boleká.
Books
- Si me preguntáis por el Panafricanismo y la Afrocentricidad (2013)
- La noche inabarcable Novel (2019)
- Africanidad (2020)
See also
In Spanish: Antumi Toasijé para niños
- Afro-Colombians
- Afro-Spaniards
- Pan-Africanism
